Demon Slayer – Episode 11: “Tsuzumi Mansion” Review

For how much I was impatiently talking about this yellow Demon Slayer guy showing up in the series, now that he has make his proper debut… Jeez, he’s grating on me pretty much right away.

This episode is the beginning of a new arc that appears to be introducing the supporting character of Zenitsu and the boar mask guy. One of which I like a whole lot, the other… not so much.

The episode begins with Tanjiro encountering the yellow clad demon slayer he met briefly during the final selection, who is currently pawing himself all over a girl demanding she marry him.

When I say demanding, it’s not aggressive and pushy. Well, it is, but there is a aura of desperation and blind panic about the guy as though he realised he only had minutes to live. Something he himself seems convinced of.

I’ll be honest, I don’t think much this character at all. Once Tanjiro gets him away from the girl and gives him a totally justified look of disgust, his state of panic just seems to go on and on… and on.

It’s like, yeah. I get it. You’re a wimp, but the escalation of his freak outs seem to go several steps further than you’re expecting. It’s odd, because so far, this has been a pretty serious show. There has been comedic moments, but they’ve been subtle and pretty brief.

This guy, he’s just too much.

Well, at least his sparrow it cute.

The direction of their guide birds leads the two to a house in the middle of the woods, inhabited by a demon. A couple of kids are in a panic outside as their older brother has been dragged inside.

Tanjiro leaves his Nezuko box outside to defend the kids and enters the house to fight the demon. The situation goes awry almost right away though, with the kids chasing them inside, leaving Nezuko outside, and the house itself becoming a giant puzzle box, separating Tanjiro and Zenitsu.

Thankfully, we’re introduced to the guy in the boar mask.

This guy is cool as hell. Accompanied by this great, heroic sounding music, he sprints through the house, cackling all the way. Then he starts making a speech at the demon as soon as he shows up about testing himself to become more powerful through trials and adversity. The guy’s a totally freaking lunatic, and I enjoy him one thousand percent more than Zenitsu.

These two new characters are on the total opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of the personality; one being an utter coward and the other being fearless to the point of insanity. Right now, I’m not sure how to take them.

After 10 episodes, the show had settled into a groove. Throwing these two into the mix seems like a real wildcard move that’s inevitably going to alter the dynamic of the show dramatically. Whether or not it’s going to be a direction I enjoy or not remains to be seen.

But as far as Zenitso goes, the lower the character starts, the more there is to redeem and reclaim going forward. He must have some skill with the sword, or else he wouldn’t have been put forward for the final selection. And then go on to survive it. Although I get the impression he is going to be filling the role of comic relief for some time to come before he eventually gets his Simon moment (That’s a Gurren Lagann reference by the way).

I hope he chills out though, because there was a lot of him in this episode, and I don’t think I could handle this much of it in 20 short minutes again next week.